The McLarty Dynasty Adds Another Notch

From our small-world file: When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, he called on an old school friend from Hope, Ark., named Thomas "Mack" McLarty to help build support in the business community. McLarty's reward was the post of White House chief of staff.

Now we hear that the latest Arkansas presidential candidate, Republican Mike Huckabee, is copying Bubba. He's asked McLarty's younger brother, Bud, an entertainment exec, to help out in the arts world and fundraising.

The reward, Huck tells our Suzi Parker: "He'd really like to be secretary of Funk, Soul, and Rock-and-Roll, and if I were to be elected, we'd probably have a job like that!"

Here's McLarty's bio from the Huckabee campaign:

Francis B. (Bud) McLarty has been in the media, broadcasting, and entertainment industry over 25 years. His entrepreneurial career encompasses radio and television station ownership and broadcast and theatrical entertainment production. McLarty serves as president and chief executive officer of BMC Media Inc. and McLarty Entertainment Group Inc., with offices in Las Vegas and Colorado Springs.

McLarty also served as senior adviser to Kissinger McLarty Associates, the international consulting firm located in New York City and Washington, D.C., and founded by Henry A. Kissinger and Thomas (Mack) McLarty, Bud McLarty's older brother and President Bill Clinton's initial White House chief of staff.

Bud McLarty participated in the alternative project interests of Kissinger McLarty Associates through various ventures in the United States and Latin America. McLarty was both an active and passive investor throughout the late 80s and early 90s in various media and entertainment projects in Los Angeles and New York City through his Beverly Hills-based firm, the Bud McLarty Co. Inc.

By Paul Bedard